Winner Takes All
by Robyn Maddison
Summary: A challenge has been issued and Sarah's been offered as the prize. Too bad she has no clue about anything...


Disclaimer: yeah right I own the Goblin King or Sarah…no really, I don't. So don't sue 

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Winner Takes All 

The two Fae were subtly tense as they sat, lounging across from each other at a large wooden table. The Goblin King and the Master of Dreams were forever baiting each other, a friendly animosity that had evolved from an initial jealousy and dislike. Forever was a long time to hold grudges and indeed, forever stretched before them. 

Dwelling on hatred and bitterness did not appeal to either. But two such similar beings, in nature if not appearance, could not always harmoniously agree on everything. Frequent 'pissing' matches arose between the two, challenges of authority and of intellect and superior magical ability. And the stakes grew higher with each passing game.

Jareth moved his jaw in a slight indication of irritation as he agreed to the game and sealed his cooperation with terms of the challenge. "Fine." He said slowly, his face hard. "I agree. You pick your champion, and I'll allow them 6 hours in which to beat my Labyrinth. Using any means I see fit to try and stop them."

The Master of Dreams smiled slowly, his dark face smug. "It is agreed then." His deep, lilting baritone voice said slowly. 

Everything about the being was dark and shadows and deliberate. "I will pick anyone I want to run your Labyrinth. And when my champion wins, you will cede me the southern forest." His eyes twinkled under the shadow of his black hood; he knew something the Goblin King did not. 

Jareth narrowed his eyes suddenly at his companion's smug expression. He stiffened suddenly. He'd momentarily, (_foolishly!) _forgotten _her_. And with sudden clarity, he knew that the Ganel, Master of Dreams, meant to bring the mortal Sarah back to run his Labyrinth again. 

After a moment of silence and quick thought, his lips curled, revealing pointed canines. This would be interesting indeed. He emitted a sharp bark of laughter and stood suddenly. "I'll be ready whenever you bring your…." He grinned slyly at Ganel. "champion." With a small spray of glittery magic Jareth was gone. 

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Ganel chuckled slowly and wrapped himself in his black cloak. His very presence ate up the light, sucked it into oblivion wherever he went. But that was not woke Sarah when he appeared in her bedroom. 

She woke when she began to fall through her bed and into another realm. She was alert and ready to fight by the time she'd hit the dusty ground outside the Labyrinth; a looming figure that stood black and dark like a hole in the fabric of the air above her prone figure. 

She scrambled to her feet and cast a quick glance around. Her eyes widened as she saw the Labyrinth stretched out in front of her. She whirled to face the silent Master of Dreams. 

 Her face twitched silently. "What the hell is going on?" She hissed. 

Ganel expressed a certain air of bewilderment at her sudden acclimatization to the sudden transition between Aboveground and Underground, but then remembered the woman had several Underground friends she kept in close contact with. Pleased, he did not show it.

Sarah fidgeted in a bit of apprehension under the blank unmoving stare of the Dream Master. 

Slowly he spoke. "You're here to run the Labyrinth again."

Sarah glared at him, planted her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow; she was _not_ to be intimidated by this creature. "Oh really?" her voice was sceptical. 

"If you don't beat the Labyrinth, then the Goblin King will take away…" there was an ominous pause, "Imagination."

Sarah raised her brow further, it was inching up past her longish bangs. "You have got to be kidding me." Her gaze was derisive. "I'm not stupid you know, _Master of Dreams_. And yeah, that's right, I _do_ know who you are. Which limits your credibility right there, I have to say. I've heard about you" She began to rant in earnest, with a kind of 'damn, I'm on a roll' feeling. 

"First of all, what would the Goblin King gain from taking away the ability to imagine? It would not be beneficial to his realm, or the Underground at all. _At all_." She emphasized dramatically and snapped her fingers harshly.

"Second of all, if you think I'd fall for a stupid ploy like that…" She shook her head in mock sadness. "If the Goblin King really _was_ going to 'steal imagination'," she quoted with her fingers and began to pace back and forth in front of the Dream Master, "he wouldn't even allow you a chance to beat him. He's not stupid either." 

She planted her feet in front of him and levelled a gaze at his black figure, a distinctly challenging light in her eyes.

"So either explain right now and no lying, or send me the fuck home." Her eyes sparked green fire as she glared at the master of Dreams. She did not appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night for some weird Underground ordeal.  

Ganel remained stoic, but he was understandably angry. The Mortal was supposed to do as he wished, not _defy_ him. Not treat him like an errant, stupid child.

"Fine." He said sharply, his slow tones almost gone with his frustration. "The Goblin King and I made a...bet of sorts. I picked someone to run his labyrinth in 6 hours and if my champion beat it, he would cede me something I wanted, it's not important what. If he won, I would give him something he wanted. Again the, _what_ is not so terribly important."

Sarah frowned. "So you brought me here to run his Labyrinth, just so you could get something that you won't tell me what it is?! And there's absolutely nothing in it for me." She paused for a moment. "Not to mention I barely made it through in 9 hours last time. Just barely!!" 

She scoffed. "Yeah…right. Go pick another Champion, I refuse." 

A laugh rolled through the air around them and Sarah flinched as she recognized the smooth tones of the Goblin King. She stood up straighter, unaccountably nervous, as he appeared in the air in between Ganel and Sarah, resplendent and intimidating in all his kingly glory. Compared to him the Master of Dreams was drab and scruffy. 

Well, at least in Sarah's biased eye. She'd fantasized so much about the Goblin King that nothing could ever seem as amazing as his actual presence. Everything dimmed in comparison to the real thing.

"Hello…Sarah, was it?" His voice was smooth; his eyes hooded as he pretended ignorance and slighted the mortal. 

Sarah flushed with anger or embarrassment. She didn't quite know which. 

"Well, well." He walked slowly around her. "You certainly have grown up." His breath on her shoulder as he leaned to speak into her ear.

She glared at him and took a step away. 

The Goblin King laughed at her discomfort and turned to a silently fuming Ganel. His blackness was blurring around the edges, a sure sign of his anger, as he was unable to retain a good hold on his physical presence. 

"Well Ganel. I've won this round." His voice was smug. "Your champion has refused to run."

"Um…c-can I change my mind?" Sarah asked quickly, hesitant to interrupt the intense glaring contest. 

The Goblin King whirled. "Do you _want_ to run the Labyrinth again?" He smiled ferally at the girl.  

She blanched at his expression. "Uh…No. I still don't want to. I just…like to have my options open…" She mumbled the last bit quickly. "Never mind. Go back to your pissing match." 

"Smart girl." Jareth said slowly before turning back to Ganel. 

"You knew that she wouldn't run didn't you?" 

Jareth smirked at his friend. "I had my suspicions." He said nonchalantly. 

Ganel's outline wavered even more. 

"I must admit however, that I didn't expect to win so soon. I thought she would take a little longer to figure out you were lying. She wasn't very good at figuring out differences between truth and illusion last time she was here." He casta subtle glance to her silent figure and smiled grimly.

Sarah flinched at his verbal jab. "And _she_ is standing right behind you…." She muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at the Goblin King's back.

In a sudden noise of exasperation at his loss, Ganel let loose a guttural cry of rage and without further ado and absolutely no fanfare, disappeared. He was, understandably, quite annoyed that he'd been so neatly foiled and outwitted. 

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The Goblin King smirked and turned to survey his Labyrinth with a proprietor's pride. Then he caught sight of Sarah out of the corner of his eye. 

"Well, what are you still doing here?" He asked sharply, momentarily confused by her continued presence.

Sarah blanched. "What do you mean 'what am I still doing here'?! I can't Very well send myself home…" She whispered. 

"Ganel should have sent you back when he left." Jareth frowned slightly. 

Her voice was a bit more panicked. "What?!" 

Jareth narrowed his eyes looked at her in contemplation. "Well I certainly can't send you home. I have no power over you remember?" He gritted his teeth angrily.

Sarah closed her eyes and breathed deep. "Well, then…why didn't Ganel send me home?"

Jareth smiled sardonically. "I imagine he's not very pleased with your decision to not run my Labyrinth." Jareth laughed shortly. 

And of course, there was the small matter of him owing me something I want as much as he wanted that tract of my kingdom, he added mentally, and I suppose the girl will do. He ran his eyes over her pyjama-clad form slowly. Oh yes, she'd do very nicely.

Sarah stared at a point in the distance, studiously avoiding the Goblin King's amused gaze and shivered lightly in her thin summer pyjamas.

He stepped closer to her. "You are, of course, welcome to stay at the Castle until Ganel decides to return you home." His eyes were slightly challenging and he raised a winged brow at her. 

"It's not like I have any choice now do I?" her voice was bitter. 

Jareth smiled at her, not a nice smile mind, but Sarah felt a queer little quivering in her stomach nevertheless as he extended an arm to her. "Well then, let's be off. And hold tight; this will be a bit disorienting." 

Sarah lightly grasped his arm, not heeding his words in the least, and with an exasperated sigh he pulled her towards him and held her tightly to his chest. 

Sarah's stomach jumped funnily again as she found herself staring into his smooth chest, bared by the deep V-cut of his black shirt. 

A sudden lurch and moment of queasiness and they were standing in a dusty bedroom, and Sarah was clinging to the Goblin King, accountably nauseous from the sudden transportation. 

"Sarah…" his arms gently pulled her hands away from his body. "You will have to let go of me at some point, as attractive as I am." 

She staggered slightly but stood up straight as the nauseous feeling passed. Then a red blush stained her cheeks and she stared at the ground embarrassed by her clinginess.   

Jareth watched her silently flush with pleasure; she was affected by him, he knew it. And the knowledge was extremely good for his ego. She'd obviously grown up from a childishly pretty 15 year old to a beautiful young woman. It had been what, 9 years? That would make her 24. Her 24 to his…well, he doubted it was even legal where she was from. 

And he still loved her. Her silly words, "…what no one knew that the King of the goblins..." Frowning briefly and cutting off his disastrous and depressing chain of thought, he formed a crystal and threw it at the dusty bed. With a small shatter, crystal shards were flying in an organized manner everywhere and cleaning the room as they went.

Sarah watched in fascination. "Cool…" she breathed. 

Jareth frowned at the odd turn of phrase. "What? Cool?"

"Huh? Oh…it means…um…that's very interesting and…cool." She shrugged hopelessly, slim shoulders making the straps of her pyjama tank top slip off one of her shoulders provocatively.

 "How…articulate." Jareth genuinely grinned at her bumbled explanation of the term and was then pleasantly surprised by the girl's reaction to his laughter. She smiled hopefully and hesitantly at him and shrugged once more. 

"I think, Jareth," she said quietly after what seemed like a few minutes of awkward silence, while studiously looking at the ground "That it would be nice, if I'm going to be here for a bit, I mean…and it sorta looks that way…what I mean to say…is…it would be nice if we could at least be…friends…maybe." She looked at him curiously. A well hidden hope just barely visible in her features. 

Jareth watched her with a blank face. Her beautiful face, slender body, and by the Underground he _knew_ she was clever. Friends seemed like a bit of a tall order with the amount he was attracted to her; especially with the amount that he knew he loved her.

He pulled her to him suddenly and her eyes flew up to his, wide and green and framed by thick lashes and shocked. 

His face was hard and impassive. "Friends, is not what I would like from you Sarah." He kissed her harshly taking full advantage of her mouth, slightly open from surprise. 

Then she began to respond in like. Her hands crept up around his neck and she deepened the kiss.

Jareth was surprised and pulled back slightly, his eyes confused. 

Sarah smiled slyly, gone was the hesitant, shy girl who wanted to be friends. That girl had been replaced by a woman with deliciously kiss-swollen lips and dark eyes.

"Oh good." She said slowly. "Because I have to admit, I didn't really want to be just friends either."

A mischievous grin blossomed on her face. "Do you have any idea the impression you leave on young, vulnerable, fifteen year old girls?? You spoiled me for anyone else, Goblin King." She leaned up and whispered into his ears. "Those pants you wore, and are wearing I might add, were most definitely appreciated." She kissed his mouth slowly as her words sunk in. 

Jareth chuckled against her mouth and separated briefly. "Then I suppose there's no need for the use of a guest room." He arched a brow challengingly at her.

Sarah shook her head and grinned delightedly and held onto him tightly as, once more, they transported. This time into what was obviously his bedroom. Wide windows, a large bed, luxurious hangings. But to be honest, Sarah wasn't really interested in the décor of the room, she was rather preoccupied with her Goblin King and making it to the bed.  

Slender fingers stroked through her hair as she laid her head on his chest, one arm flung over his lean torso. Sarah was happy. She felt indescribably happy as she lay curled up with the Goblin King. Her eyes were half-lidded from satisfaction and drowsiness. 

But Jareth was wide-awake and slightly worried. He'd mislead Sarah; she had no idea that Ganel had left her there for good, and would never send her back to the Aboveground. She was his prize for winning their challenge. 

Which is why he was finding it hard to find the same comfortable level of drowsiness that Sarah had obviously hit. 

"Sarah?"

"Mmm?"

"I think you should know two things."

She rolled her head to look at him. "Okay."

"First of all, I love you. Though it's probably inappropriate because you're mortal, I'm not. You're 24 and I'm _much_ older…"

Sarah just smiled happily at him. He was less hot and sexy and 'jump me right now' and more cute when he was not playing the villain, and instead being all nice and serious.

"Second of all, you probably will never get to go home. I knew  from the beginning that Ganel left you here as…my…winnings." His face was blank as he watched for her reaction. 

Sarah's eyes were wide and she sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. Her face was very serious, all vestiges of sleepiness gone. She grinned slightly though and Jareth narrowed his eyes at her. 

"Promise you won't get mad at me?"

Jareth narrowed his eyes further. "What are you on about Sarah?"

"I…uh…well, you do leave an impression on fifteen year old girls Jareth. I think I already mentioned that. And I knew I had done something incredibly foolish by," she bit her lip and stared at a point between them "…turning you down. It was just…my brother...and I was only fifteen. It was the only way then. But then, when I got back home I couldn't get you out of my head. So I began to lay plans a little while ago. Hoggle put me in contact with someone and we set up this…scheme."

Her eyes twinkled at him. "Remember how I wanted to be an actress?" Her green eyes were wide and hopeful.

Jareth nodded slowly, a blank mask had settled over his features. 

"Well, it was an act. You were _supposed_ to win the challenge, and Ganel was _supposed_ to leave me here. And you were _supposed_ to say you wanted to be more than friends." she bit her lip and waited for his reaction. 

Jareth's face was void of emotion and his eyes were oblique as he looked at the beautiful woman sitting in his bed, knowing that she was scared that he would throw her in an oubliette perhaps. Which, if it hadn't been Sarah, he would've.

His chest shook and Sarah's eyes flew to his face. He was laughing! She had no clue if this was a good thing or a bad thing and she looked confused. Jareth just chuckled and pulled her to him, his face delighted. "You're a very clever girl. And this one time, just this once, I think I can forgive you Sarah. But if you ever pull a stunt that involves making a fool of me again, then there will be very dire consequences." 

Sarah grinned mischievously. "Will you spank me?" she wanted to know.

"Only if you want me to Sarah, only if you want me to."   

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**AN: **Yup, I was bored, and should have been studying. And I got this idea while watching the Labyrinth at 1:30 in the AM last night so I had to write it out. Just a oneshot if you couldn't tell. Review, oh and point out any typos, grammar problems! I can always use the proofreading abilities of outsiders!!   
  
I'm not really happy with this, I don't think it's terribly original. But what can you do. And I re-edited this. Again. That's number four. Added a bit, changed a bit. I'm a bit more pleased with it now. *shrugs* I still think it's a bit stilted. But meh…I hope you enjoyed it anyways.   
  



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